The Job of Big Brother
by EchoKazul
Summary: Raph just asked one innocent little question, and then suddenly he found himself transported back in time to the pet store where they were hatched. Why did he get himself into these types of situations! But while there, he just might discover some very surprising revelations about his brothers, and finally find out why Leo has always been the big brother. One shot


"Phew. Now that's what I call a successful Mutation Day party!" Mikey said, tongue sticking out slightly as he hung upside down precariously from the ceiling, using a mop handle to try and reach the bottom half of the Chibi-Shredder-shaped pinata that had gotten wedged up in the pipes. A pinata and Raphael, not the best combination. Who would've guessed?

It was late, and most of the guests that had celebrated with the turtles had already left to head back to their own homes and lairs, leaving the Hamato clan to clean up. Donatello, with a purple polka-dotted party hat still on his head and large bow tied around his neck, stood directly under Mikey, poised to catch either him or the large chunk of plaster and colored tissue paper molded in the shape of armored legs, whichever fell first.

Casey belched in celebration, then eyed the bottom of his cup critically. "Too bad that Leo insisted that the fruit punch be so boring. We could'a had some really awesome drinking games going on!"

Leo, who had taken up a broom and was currently sweeping up glitter and confetti, narrowed his sapphire blue eyes at their now taller but still gangly human friend. "Casey, we're turning twenty. Not twenty one."

"Oh yeah, because if the cops walked in on a large group of ninjas and mutants in the sewers throwing a party, the first thing they're going to worry about is if there's any underage drinking going on." Casey scoffed. "You guys don't even have ID cards for them to check!"

"We didn't need alcohol to make this party awesome." Mikey decided that the best way to solve his problem was to leap from the ceiling pipe and knock the pinata loose with a kick down into Donnie's waiting hands. Then he backflipped as he fell, landing lightly onto Leo's shell while grinning teasingly at Casey. "All we need is the power of fraaaaandshippp! That's why we invited everybody!"

"Mikey..." Leo stopped sweeping with a grunt, and glared up at his no-longer-so-little brother.

"Oh, right. Sorry Leo." Mikey apologized down at him. He crouched on Leo's shell, wiggled a little bit like a cat preparing for to leap up to a high windowsill, then launched himself across the kitchen onto Raph's shell instead, where there was much more room for him to perch on.

Raph just continued his quest to try and shove as much trash as he could into a single bag, acting as if having a brother clinging to his shell was completely normal and not worth a second thought.

Finally out of adolescence, the turtle brothers had seen something of a growth spurt as they entered fully into adulthood. It had been most noticeable in Raph, who once had been the shortest. Now, at six foot and four inches, he was the second tallest, only an inch or so shorter then the much thinner Donnie. Even Mikey had managed to hit the six foot mark, barely, though he somehow stayed as flexible and agile as ever.

Only Leo had seemed to be unaffected. He had remained five foot seven inches.

True, being lighter and smaller gave him several advantages as a ninja, allowing him to fit into crawlspaces and run across railings that his brothers no longer could, and thanks to his obsessive training routines, he was probably still the most skilled ninja out of the four of them. But it still seemed to rankle him a bit that he was so much shorter then even Mikey. It was just one more button for his brothers to push.

"Well, I'm just honored that you thought to include me as well. I never thought that I would be able to party with the Turtles of Legend!" Renet gushed, helping April carry some of the bowls of leftover candy and popcorn into the kitchen. She set her bowl down, and dusted off her hands. "Though, once again, I apologize that my ride home seems to be running late. I'm totally sure they'll be here any minute!"

April paused and looked at her, confused. "But... it's time travel... How could they be running late...?"

Renet waved it off. "Oh, Lord Simultaneous probably got distracted by his favorite soap opera or something. Happens all the time!"

"Yeah, but... it's time travel! You either arrive at a certain point in time, or you don't!" April protested, obviously trying to figure this out.

Donnie put a hand on her shoulder sympathetically. "April, my dear. As a fellow scientist, it pains me to say this, but, after living my whole life with Mikey, I've come to realize there are many things in this world that I've learned to just accept as total and complete nonsense." He took the bowls out of her hands and carried them over to the sink for her. "Time travel is apparently one of them."

"Don't you have one of those Time Travel Sticks?" Raph straightened up a little, causing Mikey to almost lose his balance, and eyed her scepter suspiciously. "Why can't you zap yourself back home?"

"Oh, this thing?" Renet held up her time scepter and scoffed. "This is just an Apprentice's Staff. Not nearly as cold as the real Time Scepter! It's pretty pathetic, really."

Leo narrowed his eyes at his red brother as he noticed something. "Say, Raph, I still see that mountain of pizza boxes on the counter. Didn't I ask you to carry those up to the dumpster?"

Raph shrugged as he judged the bulging full garbage bag in his hand with a critical eye, obviously weighing in on whether it would survive another stack of plastic cups being shoved in. "An' I told you, I'll get to that in a minute.

Leo stepped over to stop Raph's attempt at murdering the poor, overstuffed garbage bag. "That was twenty minutes ago."

"I was busy doing other shit. Doesn't mean I wasn't going to get around to it." Raph rolled his eyes. And just because he knew it annoyed Leo, he patted the blue leader on the head meaningfully. "Chill out with the 'big' brother'ing, Leo!"

Leo swatted Raph's hand away with the broom handle, obviously realizing that Raph was making a short joke at his expense and unamused. "We can't get the dishes washed until the counter's cleared off. You're holding things up."

"Well, if it needed to be done that soon, then why didn't you go ahead and do it?" Raph growled.

Everybody has to do their share of the clean up, and that was yours!" Leo crossed his arms sternly, pretending for the moment that he was unaware of Mikey perfectly mimicking their movement and facial expressions up above Raph's field of vision.

Raph narrowed his eyes, a little offended. "Hey, I do my share! I even had to clean up that giant hairball that Ice Cream Kitty hocked up all over the kitchen table earlier. Something that should've been Mikey's job!" He twisted a bit to glare at the turtle perched on his shell, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously when he noticed Mikey was suddenly sitting there and looking innocent.

"Wait, Ice Cream Kitty suffers from hairballs?" April looked very confused now. "How?"

"Very colorfully." Donnie said dryly. "Trust me when I say, it's not a pretty thing."

Leo closed and tied off Raph's garbage bag for him, remarking, "Mikey would've cleaned up after his pet if he had been available to do so. He wasn't currently available, I might remind you, because _somebody_ decided it would be a good idea to gift him with a Bedazzler."

Raph snickered at the memory of Leo's reaction upon discovering his newly decorated katana. "Hey, you're the one who's always getting on my case about controlling my temper, lecturing and yapping on and on about resorting to 'less violent forms of relieving tension'. I just showed you just how displeased I was in a very non-violent fashion."

"So instead you went the for 'Passive Aggressive Revenge' route instead. How very mature, Raph." Leo huffed.

"Hey, don't be hating on my artistic vision!" Mikey finally chimed in as he plopped down so that his legs dangled down over Raph's shoulders, and his elbow's rested on top of the red turtle's head.

Leo's eyes narrowed up his youngest brother, then suddenly Mikey gave a yelp as he was expertly flipped off of Raph's back and onto his shell onto the floor, pinned down by Leo's foot. Leo glared down at him sternly. "Yeah, don't pretend like you and I aren't going to have a long talk later about respecting other people's property, especially our weapons."

Mikey raised a hand up from where he lay on the floor, holding up a finger defiantly. "I will find where you hid that Bedazzler, Leo. Mark my words."

"It's gone, Mikey. Long gone. Where you'll never find it. For now, you still have balloons and silly string to get off the ceiling pipes." Leo growled as he stepped off his brother's plastron and reached down to help Mikey stand up. Then he picked his broom back up and glared at Raph. "Raphael. Pizza boxes. Dumpster. Go."

"Don't worry, I'll help you, Raphael!" Renet said cheerfully, grabbing a stack of the greasy cardboard boxes, eager to be helpful.

Raphael narrowed his eyes and snorted, torn for a moment. But not wanting to be outdone and shamed by a houseguest won in the end, and he surrendered the argument with Leo. He moved to grab the rest of the pizza boxes, growling and grumbling under his breath as he followed Renet out of the lair. "Next year, I'm going to get Leo a procedure for extracting that giant stick shoved up his shell."

* * *

"I'm still super impressed at the sheer amount of pizza eaten at that party." Renet chattered conversationally as she held up the dumpster lid for Raph. "Like, I've seen a lot of amazing things in my life, and that has to be in the top ten most unnatural things I've ever witnessed. And that's saying a lot, trust me!"

Raph just grumbled as he tossed the last of the boxes into the dumpster, then wiped the grease off his hands on an old rag. Stupid Leo, always bossing them around. It's not like he hadn't been helping or anything! Why did it matter what order the cleaning was done in? It, of course, had to be done in the order that _Leo_ said it had to be. It always had to be done Leo's way! Just because he was oldest! Oldest by what, five minutes? If that?!

Now that he though about it, Leo really was the big brother only because he had always _told_ them that he was their big brother! It's not like they remembered the details of when they hatched. Or even the order that they had hatched in, even. Who knew if Leo was really the oldest. Maybe Raph was the oldest! What would Leo say then, huh?

Eh, whatever. It's not like there was a way to peek back in time to figure that out or anything.

Renet sneezed.

Oh.

 _Ooooh._ Right.

Taking a moment to glance around the empty alleyway, he chewed his lip for a moment, then turned to Renet. "Say, Renet, I know I'm going to regret this, but... you're a time traveler, right? Can I ask ya a question?"

Renet looked thrilled at receiving positive attention from the normally wary-of-her red brother. "Of course you can, Raphael! Ask away!"

Raph tried not to look too interested. "Well... Since we were kids, Leo's always been the 'Big Brother', lording over us and bossin' us around and all that. But, the way I figure it, we all hatched at the same time, or pretty close. So I've been wondering... is he really the oldest? Is there a way to peek back and see?"

Renet blinked in surprise. "You don't know? I always thought that it was concrete fact. I mean, it's always 'Leonardo's the oldest, Michelangelo is the youngest'." She looked thoughtful. "You and Donatello seem a little more ambiguous, but that doesn't seem to be a huge point of contention."

Raph shrugged. "It's not like we remember hatching or anything. We were little more then a few days old when Master Splinter first got us."

Renet tapped her chin with her staff a few times, looking thoughtful. "Huh. That's a good question." She grinned, raising her staff. "Well, there's one way to find out!"

"Hm? What?" Raph noticed the glow of the staff too late, and his eyes widen in alarm as he held up his hands in protests. "No, wait! Stop! I didn't mean that I wanted to actually go back in time myself! Don't you have a crystal ball or something?!"

His protests came too late. By the time he had finished his sentence, the alleyway had shifted away, and suddenly they were standing in the back room of a quiet little pet store.

"Ah, here we are." Renet said, looking around eagerly, lowering her staff. "Twenty years and a few days ago, in the pet store where you hatched!" She looked to Raph, excited. "You and me, out on an adventure to discover the truth! Isn't this cold?!"

Raph just stood there rigidly, horrified and looking nauseous. Yup. There it was. That intense feeling of regret. He knew it would show up.

It was a fairly good sized back room area, with shelving units stacked with bags of feed and equipment for a wide variety of animals, and tables with covered with aquariums, cages, and plastic tubs. Through the swinging double doors which probably led out onto the sales floor, he could faintly hear birds tweeting and chirping, dogs barking, the squeaking of little rodent exercise wheels, and the constant hum of dozens of aquarium filters and air pumps running

A very young woman, possibly still yet a teenager, stood in the middle of the room and swept the floor nearby, humming to herself and occasionally popping a pink bubble with the wad of gum she was chewing. She was of asian ethnicity, with thick eyeliner, black nailpolish, and dark purple lipstick. Her black hair was pulled up into two long, thick pigtails, with the ends dyed in various bright, vivid colors. Blue, purple, orange, and red, oddly enough. Although she wore the red frock and cream colored apron that was apparently the store uniform, she further managed to let her goth tendencies shine through with a spiked collar around her neck, several loops of black studded leather around her wrists, fishnet stockings, and tall black, heavily buckled boots with thick soles to make her look taller.

Raph froze like a deer in headlights as he noticed her, then quickly rolled into the shadows behind a shelving unit, heart pounding and cursing inwardly. "Are you crazy?!" he hissed at Renet, peeking around to see if the human woman had noticed him. "I can't be seen! I'll cause a panic!"

"Huh?" Renet looked dumbfounded, then understanding dawned on her face. She leaned on her staff and waved away his fears. "Oooh! Pft. There's absolutely no reason worried, Raphael! It's impossible for us to mess up the timeline or anything. Only the Time Scepter has that ability, and Lord Simultaneous has that." She flicked a fingernail at the tiny, plastic hourglass on top of the staff. "This is just an apprentice's staff. They don't want us messing with things unsupervised, so we can't actually interact with anything or anybody. Only observe. See?"

As a demonstration, Renet casually walked across the floor, right in front of the goth girl, and then, to Raph's amazement, she walked right through the human worker like a ghost. "See?" she turned back to Raph chipperly. "They're completely unaware and unaffected by anything we do. Think of it as watching a movie or something."

The goth girl snapped her gum absently, continuing to sweep.

Raph peeked out and swallowed hard, still looking around nervously.

"Come on!" Renet coaxed him sweetly, hands on knees. "It's perfectly safe!"

"I don't know..." Raph didn't look completely reassured. "This has 'Bad Idea' written all over it. Like, 'Mikey' level of bad idea."

"Oh, come on, scaredy cat!" Renet shook her head, amused. She stood up and moved to look around the room. "Let's go find you and your brothers! Or, at least, your eggs. Oh, glork, I bet you're adorable!"

Raph blinked, then stepped out nervously, creeping forward in a cautious manner, ready to spring back into hiding at the drop of a pin.

"Mai!" a cross voice snapped out loudly. Renet gave a sigh as Raph popped like a startled cat and disappeared instantly to wherever ninjas went when they hid.

The goth girl straightened up as well, and turned to look as a tall, older woman leaned in the doorway to the backroom, glaring at her disapprovingly. "What did I tell you about chewing gum while working?!"

"Ah, sorry Mrs Wiltson." the goth girl, obviously named Mai, grinned sheepishly, taking the wad of gum out of her mouth and turning to toss it in the nearby trashcan. "I forgot."

The older woman, obviously a manager or owner or something, snorted in disapproval. Shaking her greying head, she disappeared through the doorframe, heading back onto the sales floor.

Mai waited patiently until she was sure she was gone, then pulled another stick of gum from her pocket and popped it in her mouth, going back to chewing as she continued her sweeping.

Raph decided he liked her.

"Ooh! Raphael! Over here!" Renet had wandered over to a table set against the wall, and was peering into a plastic tupperware container with eagerness.

Raph sighed, then, deciding he needed to reinforce his 'brave guy' image, stepped out of the shadows, keeping a close eye on Mai as he carefully picked his way over. Thankfully, as promised, she gave no indication that she was the slightest bit aware of his existence. Exhaling in relief, he leaned over to see what had Renet so interested.

Oh.

Right. Of course. He should've expected that.

Inside the opaque plastic tub, nestled snugly in a warm nest of peat moss and dirt, were four turtle eggs.

Alright, feelings of existential crisis were welling up again. Big time.

"I-is that... _us_?!" Raph squeaked in a far less manly tone then he preferred.

"It must be! Look at you!" Renet positively cooed as she leaned in for a closer look, looking at the eggs like they were the cutest things she had ever seen. "Oh my gosh, you guys were so tiny!"

"Um... yeah..." Raph licked his lips and looked half mesmerized, half terrified at the sight of the four little eggs that currently contained him and his brothers. He didn't know how he should feel at the sight of that, and was feeling uncomfortable with this whole situation. He was never one for self reflection, if he could avoid it. Come to think of it, he wasn't one for time travel either. Why did he get himself into this situation again?

"Now all we need to do is sit back and wait to see who hatches first." Renet didn't seem to notice his discomfort. "Then we'll know who's actually the oldest!"

"Wait, how long is this going to take?" Raph frowned, looking at her. "The guys are going to wonder where we disappeared off to if we take too long. They're going to freak out if they can't find us." As much as he enjoyed driving his brothers crazy, he didn't want to cause them actual stress or worry if he could avoid it.

Renet waved off his concern, keeping her eyes on the eggs. "Oh, don't worry. It's time travel, they won't even notice we're gone. Even if we spend a whole day here, it'll only be fifteen minutes, tops, over there."

Raph crossed his arms. Donnie was right. Time Travel was bullshit. Then he sighed in resignation and turned to watch the eggs. He had to admit that he was growing more curious. If only this wasn't so... _weird_.

* * *

Renet had surprisingly timed their jump fairly accurately, leaving Raph to briefly wonder how she knew exactly where and when they had hatched. At any rate, it wasn't long until there was movement among the eggs, and it was obvious that hatching was imminent.

"Oh, look!" Both of Renet's hands flew up to her mouth as she squealed, then pointed at one of the eggs. "I see a nose poking out of that egg! Oh my gosh! A little turtle snoot! It's so _cute_!"

Raph leaned over despite himself to watch closely. The first little turtle brother managed to rip the leathery eggshell enough to wiggle out. With a squeak, he rolled out into the peat moss, then looked around in surprise and amazement.

"Who is it?! Who is it?!" Renet clapped her hands in excitement and bobbed her head about the table in awkward poses, trying to get a good look at the turtle. "Raphael, who is it?! I can't tell!"

Raph frowned and narrowed his eyes, trying to recognize the little infant. Well, it didn't look like Leo. In fact, the little chubby face almost looked like...

" _MIKEY_?!" His jaw dropped in shock. Mikey was the oldest?! Oh, gods! He must never know!

"Really?! That's Michelangelo?!" Renet looked up at him, obviously highly amused by this development. "You're telling me the baby brother is actually the oldest?! Oh, glorb! That's so kranking funny!"

The little baby turtle at first just turned in small circles. Either he was trying to take in the whole new world around him in panoramic sweeps, or he only had figured out how to work one set of legs at the moment. Then his attention was caught by realization that there were three other eggs, and he gave a happy chirp, before scooting over to start trying to crawl all over them.

"Hm. I see that started at an early age." Raph observed. Then he stiffened and backed away nervously as the human Mai noticed the activity as well, and came over to peek into the tub.

"Oh! Mrs Wiltson!" she called out over her shoulder as she broke out into a wide smile. "The baby turtles! They're finally hatching!"

"Oh, well, that's good." the older woman glanced in with only the slightest interest. "Keep an eye on them, Mai, and let me know if there's any trouble."

"Yes ma'am! Oh, hey, little guy, quit crawling all over your siblings!" Mai laughed, picking up the small turtle and moving him over to the waiting food dish. "Here! You might find this more interesting!"

Baby turtle Mikey very much did, and immediately took to food like a duck to water, crawling right into the lettuce leaves and munching away eagerly.

"Oh, look, the next brother is coming out already!" Renet gasped, and Raph turned to see the second baby turtle had already halfway pushed itself out of the egg, and was fighting stubbornly to free its back half.

Then, it slipped completely free, and scooted away a few inches, before stopping and sitting there, all bunched up and almost glaring around defiantly, like he was daring anything else to dare try and restrain him.

"Raphael..." Renet breathed. "Is that..."

Raph's eyes widened. Okay, he had just obviously witnessed his own hatching. That's not something he was expecting to ever experience. But, on the other hand, this meant that...

"Whoo! In your _FACE_ , Leo! Ha!" He grinned as he flung both arms straight up in celebration. He pointed at the unhatched eggs. "Who's the big brother now, huh?!"

"And hello to you as well, big guy!" Mai grinned, picking up the little Raph baby. "Oh, hey now! None of that!" she quickly scolded as the baby turtle hissed at her and snapped at the air. "Manners, young man!"

The baby turtle seemed to huff, and pulled into his shell sulkily, glaring at her from within.

"Man, you were a crabby baby." Renet observed.

"You know it." Raph said, arms crossed proudly. It was nice to know that he came directly out of the egg fighting mad.

Mai set the second oldest turtle down by the food dish as well, and baby turtle Mikey perked up, obviously quite interested. Dragging a small lettuce leaf over with him, he proceeded to start climbing over his newest brother. Baby Raph looked absolutely baffled by this for a moment, then apparently decided to just roll with it, and began chewing on a lettuce leaf himself.

It took a little longer, over half an hour later, when the third turtle brother finally managed to hatch.

Unlike the first two brothers, this turtle didn't seem to want to just burst out as fast as possible. Instead, he wiggled, paused, looked around and seemed to study the situation for a minute, before wiggling again. It was almost like he was trying to figure out the most efficient way to hatch as he went through the process. Then, when he finally slipped all the way out and was finally free of the egg, he paused, blinking for a moment, before turning back around to closely study the crack in the prison he had just broken out of as if he trying to understand what the heck had just happened.

"Heh, curious little fellow, aren't you?" Mai chuckled. He gave an awkward, protesting squawk as she picked him up to set him down with the others. He looked around his new surroundings, startled for a minute, before being buried under baby Mikey.

"That has got to be Donatello." Renet rested her hands on her knees as she crouched down, watching the new turtle with interest.

"Yeah. And he still looks like a nerd, even as a baby." Raph agreed, arms crossed as he watched the three baby turtles interact with amusement. "And that answers my question! Ha! Who would've thought it?! It turns out that Fearless is actually the youngest out of all of us!" Raph couldn't wait to reveal this juicy tidbit of information when he got back home. Leo was still his leader and sensei. That wouldn't ever change, and he didn't want it to. But Leo was waaay too bossy for his own good. "'I'm the Big Brother' my arse! Wait until I rub this in his smug face!"

Renet looked up at him hopefully. "So, even though we figured out the hatching order, you want to stick around and watch him hatch as well, right?"

Raph shrugged, trying not to show how interested he was. "Might as well. Knowing him, even though he's last, he's still probably going to scoot over to start bossing us around immediately." He shook his head, watching the last egg wiggle fondly.

And so they waited for Leonardo to hatch.

And waited.

And waited.

Hours ticked by, and still, Leo didn't hatch.

Raph's amusement had completely faded away by now, replaced by deep concern. They could see movement in the egg, and glimpses of the small green shell inside through the few rips and tears in egg, but Leo seemed to be having a great deal of trouble getting out.

As they watched the small turtle struggling in the egg, Raph finally exhaled shakily and glanced at Renet, his voice tense. "You're sure that we didn't alter history or anything?"

Renet watched, frowning. "I'm totally sure! Like I said, this is just a snapshot of time. We're not actually here."

Mai apparently was growing concerned as well. She had stopped by several times throughout the afternoon to check, and was now crouched by the hatching container, peeking in. "Hey, boss, I think this last one is in trouble."

Mrs Wiltson walked over to take a look, adjusting her glasses as she took a look. "Hm. Yes, it does seem to be struggling, doesn't it?"

Mai touched the side of the container, and then glanced up. "Can't we help the poor little guy?"

The older woman shook her head. "No. I know it's tempting, but its best to avoid handling turtle eggs as much as possible. This is something that they need to do on their own."

Noticing the three healthy and already hatched brothers, she picked up a clipboard and began examining them. "I know it can seem harsh," she explained, giving Mai a bit of a sympathetic look, "but that's nature's way. And don't get your hopes up too high. Sadly, it's not unusual to lose an egg or two in a nest. In fact, its more uncommon for all the eggs to hatch with healthy, living turtles. At least these three seem healthy enough."

Raph swallowed hard, and turned back to the tiny little turtle struggling to free himself. He tried to remind himself that this was already done and in the past. Leo was fine, strong, and healthy. Obviously he's going to be okay!

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the small turtle managed to twist and flail enough to slip free from the egg and collapsed into the mossy soil, heaving for air and completely exhausted.

"There we go. Welcome to the world, little man!" Mai reached in to gently pick the tiny infant turtle up out of the dirt, and cradled him in the palm of her hand. She frowned and looked up at her boss. "Oh man, he doesn't look so good. Poor little guy!"

Raph hovered unseen nearby, feeling helpless as he looked at the tiny, exhausted baby turtle that would one day grow up to be his brother, unable to touch or interact with him in any shape or form. He looked so weak and frail! Could that really be Leo?!

"Here, let me examine it." Mrs Wiltson took the small turtle out of her hand, holding the sides of the shell and lifting him up to critically peer at him. The small turtle weakly tried moving once or twice, then seemed to give up and just went limp in her grasp. Obviously, struggling took too much energy that he just didn't have.

The older woman frowned. "Hm. Unfortunately, it does seems to be very weak and sickly. It's probably not going to survive." She shook her head. "Sadly, from the looks of it, it just might be best to put this one down."

"Put him down? You mean euthanize him?!" Mai's brown eyes went wide.

"What?! Oh, hell NO!" Raph raged, drawing his sai and charging. "You put my brother the fuck down! _Now_!" He passed right through the aproned human, and whirled about with a frustrated snarl.

"Raphael, don't worry!" Renet grabbed him by the arm, trying to calm him down. "Leonardo's going to be fine, remember? This is in the past, obviously he survived!"

Mai was obviously upset by this as well, looking at the little turtle unhappily. "I know he's a little weak now, but come on! We're not even going to give him a chance?!"

Mrs Wiltson continued to turn the exhausted little turtle over, examining him with a critical eye. "I know you're still new, Mai, but you'll learn that this is just a part of the process, sad as it may be. With a turtle this weak and sickly, it's the humane thing to do. This way, it won't suffer. I highly doubt this one will survive through the night as it is."

"Oh, I don't know. I bet with a little bit of rest, a good soak, and maybe some lettuce leaves, he'll perk right back up." Mai reached up to pet the tiny, sagging head. "It's amazing what a little TLC can do."

"That may be. But even if it does live, this turtle won't ever be very strong." Mrs Wiltson, satisfied with her examination, held the little turtle out to Mai's waiting hands, who took him back almost defensively. "The pet store can't sell unhealthy or defective animals."

Mai held the tiny Leo up, and looked at him with a critical eye. "I don't know. If you ask me, this little guy has the heart of a fighter. He'll grow up to be plenty strong, if we just give him a chance!" She looked at her boss pleadingly. "Please, Mrs Wiltson! He's not going to give up that easily. I think he deserves a chance to prove himself."

Mrs Wilston sighed, and gave in. She turned away, waving a hand. "Very well, Mai. Just put it in with the others for now. If it lasts through the night, we'll decide what to do with it in the morning. Now come on, we still have to clean out the aquariums."

"Of course, boss. Thank you! Just give me a moment to get this little guy situated, and I'll be right there." Mai nodded, and watched as the older woman left.

"That _BITCH_!" Raph snarled, still riled up at the human that had almost just put down his newly hatched brother. Then he sheathed his sais and turned back to Leo, anger melting to chest-tightening worry. The humans had been right, though. Leo looked incredibly weak and sickly, struggling for air.

Mai was quiet for a moment, studying the tiny baby turtle she held cradled in her hands, then sighed and pulled a chair up to the table with the turtle nursery on it, flipping it around so she was straddling it backwards and leaning against the back. "Alright, little man." she brought the little turtle up to look directly into the serious look on her face. "You and I need to have a little heart to heart here for a moment. I know you're tired, but this is really important, so you need to listen to every word, you hear me?"

Baby Leo seemed to lift his head just a little bit to look at her wearily, almost as if he understood her.

She gave him a gentle smile, and turned the little turtle so that he was looking down at the three healthy, strong baby turtles already in the aquarium. "See those guys in there? Those three little scamps?" She leaned forward so that her face was right next to Leo, peering in beside him. "Well, those three are your brothers. Your family! Aren't they amazing? They'll be your best friends, you know." She gave him a quickly side look and a wink. "And let me tell you something. I can tell by the gleam in those eyes. Those three are going to be trouble. Big trouble! With a capital T! You can't even begin to imagine the kind of mischief those rascals are going to get themselves into!"

Raph only snorted. If only she knew. She probably wasn't talking about alien invasions, mutant armies, dimensional hopping, and world-saving heroics.

Mai couldn't hear him, of course, and continued talking to Leo seriously. "Now, I'm talking from personal experience. I have some brothers myself, brothers just like this, who also get themselves into a lot of trouble. What little hooligans like that need, more then anything else in the world, is a strong big brother to watch over them and help keep them out of trouble. Otherwise, they're going to quickly find themselves in over their heads. They could even get hurt!"

She turned Leo so that he was looking at her again, and seemed to consider him carefully, before nodding with a knowing grin, as if she were coming to a conclusion. "And you know what? From the moment I first saw you, I could tell. You're the perfect turtle for the job! _You_ can be the big brother they're going to desperately need. So that's your responsibility from now on, do you hear me? I don't care that you hatched last, or that you're the smallest. You're the big brother now. But that means the you're going to have to buckle down and get strong. They're going to need you to keep them out of trouble, so that means that you have to get stronger for them. Then you can take care of them and protect them."

She gently put the small, weak turtle in the aquarium and moved his brothers to snuggle in close around him. "So here's what you need to do, my little man. Rest there for a little bit and gather up your strength. Then you need to concentrate on becoming the strongest little turtle ever. Become strong for your brothers, because otherwise they'll be so lost without you. They're counting on you to be the best big brother ever."

She exhaled and watched him for a few seconds worriedly.

Then, suddenly, little baby Leo gave the smallest little chirp, which was quickly answered by all three brothers crowding around him.

Mai gave a grin at the sound. Then, shaking her head, she stood up, gave him a fond, knowing wink, and turned, heading towards the aquarium section.

Raph just stood there for a while, one hand resting on the lip of the glass aquarium, watching the three baby turtles huddled around their exhausted youngest brother protectively, an unreadable look on his face.

"Raphael, are you all right?" Renet touched his arm gently, concerned. "I... I know this wasn't quite what you were expecting to find out. But it turns out okay. Leonardo grew up healthy and strong."

Raph was quiet for a moment, then nodded. "Yeah, I know." He turned away and crossed his arms. "I'm fine. Let's go home now."

Renet gave the baby turtles in the small glass aquarium one last look, then gave a small smile and shake of her head, before lifting up her staff.

In a second, the backroom faded away, and they were both standing out in the alley by a dumpster stuffed with empty pizza boxes once more.

"Well, that was an adventure!" Renet said cheerfully, trying to lift the mood up.

"Yeah." Raph said absently. Then, after a minute, he turned to her. "Renet? Thanks."

"Oh. Um, yeah. You're welcome! Anytime, Raphael!" Renet was taken by surprise by the sincerity on the normally grumpy turtle's features.

Suddenly, a light appeared in the sky above them, and a white, disembodied head appeared. "Renet! I have come to take you home, as requested!"

"Lord Simultaneous!" Renet put her hands on her hips and glared up at the imposing floating head. "You're late!"

"Insolent apprentice! I am the Master of Time itself! I am never late!" the voice boomed, offended.

Renet crossed her arms. "Oh, what was it this time? 'As the Hourglass Turns', or 'The Young and the Ageless'?"

" _Silence_!" Lord Simultaneous seemed to fidget just a little guiltily. "Come, Renet! Before the commercial break is over!"

Renet rolled her eyes, then waved to Raph. "Well, tell the guys goodbye for me. I had a cold time today with you, Raphael! And the party was totally gronking! I hope I can come to your next Mutation Day party!"

Raph scoffed and waved her off. "Eh, I'll invite you myself, if the other doofus's forget."

She smiled, and then, with a flash, she was gone.

* * *

When Raph made his way back into the lair, he had to stop at the sight before him, a small, relieved smile flittering across his face.

Leo fiercely held a struggling Mikey pinned plastron down on the floor, looking anything but weak and frail. The orange turtle's shell was completely covered in colorful sparkling gems, and Leo muttered dark things under his breath as he tried prying them off. Mikey squirmed and protested unhappily at the rough treatment.

"Mikey! Hold still so I can try and get these off! Good grief, I still don't understand how you managed to Bedazzle your own shell! It boggles the mind!"

"Hey, you're always telling me that I can accomplish anything I put my mind to!" Mikey scooted a few inches forward on the floor like an inchworm, but a twist of an arm and a heel pressing slightly into a pressure point on the back of his head had him sputtering and obviously completely immobilized.

"And why on earth would you want to put your mind to gluing plastic baubles all over yourself?!" Leo snapped, teeth gritted as he tried to unBedazzle his brother. "And that still doesn't answer the question of 'how?!' Like, half of these are on the middle of your shell! You can't reach back there yourself! It's physically impossible!"

"Leo, bro. Don't underestimate what you can get done with a lot of determination, a bunch of rubber bands, and a selfie stick." Mikey's tongue stuck out slightly as he now worked on freeing one of his arms pinned by Leo's knee.

Both brothers froze as Raph slipped over and wrapped both of his arms around Leo, pulling him into a fierce hug, and there was a moment of shocked silence.

Finally, Mikey nudged Leo. "Psst. Leo. I think Raph is hugging you!"

"I know, Mikey!" Leo whispered back stiffly. "He's pinning my arms to my side. Could you...?"

"On it, bro!" Mikey's now freed hand slipped up to feel Raph's forehead. "Hm. He doesn't feel like he has a fever."

The door to Donnie's lab opened, and the purple brother stepped out, carrying two glass beakers with a clear, thick liquid in them and studying them as he walked. "Okay, I think I've got the solution mixed right. This should dissolve the adhesive compound without doing any harm to either Mikey's shell or oh dear Marie Curie, is Raph hugging you, Leo?!"

"Seems that way." Leo eyed Raph with uncertainty.

"He's not feverish, I just checked!" Mikey waved his free arm at Donnie.

"Hm." Donnie set the glass beakers down nearby and grabbed Raph's face, examining each eye closely. "Well, his pupils appear normal. I don't think he hit his head or ingested anything poisonous."

"Oh, shut up." Raph grumbled as he released Leo and pulled away, crossing his arms and obviously trying to hide embarrassment with annoyance. "Can't a guy give his brother a hug once in a while?"

Donnie raised an eyeridge at Raph. "Aaaaanyways..." he turned back to Leo and handed him one of the glass beakers. "I finished the solution you asked for. Use this on your katana, the bathroom mirror, the pinball machine, and your meditation candles. I'll take Mr Rhinestone Cowboy here and Chompy back to the lab and try to get their shells cleared off."

Raph uncrossed his arms, alarmed. "Wait, what's this about Chompy?"

Donnie put a hand on Raph's shoulder comfortingly. "Trust me, Raph. You don't want to see. It's too sparkly and pretty."

" _Mikey!_ I told you not to touch Chompy! I'll kill ya!" Raph snarled, shoving Leo off of the orange turtle and taking his place, grabbing the orange turtle's shell and balling his fist up. He managed to get a few good slugs in before Leo pounced on him to stop him.

"Yay! Raph really is okay!" Mikey gasped beneath him.

"Come on, Mikey." Donnie shooed Raph off and reached down to grab the bejeweled brother, dragging him towards his lab. "You have an appointment in the lab right now, and I'm not going to let you skip out."

"If I'm good, do I get a lollipop afterwards, Dr Hamato?" Mikey asked hopefully.

"No. But I'll let you help me disassemble the Bedazzler. If you're really, really good, I'll even let you use a small explosive."

"Yay!" Mikey cheered as he was dragged into the lab, then the implication of the statement hit him, and he looked horrified. "Hey! Wait! No! I like the Bedazzler!"

Leo frowned as he watched the lab doors closed. "And that is why we don't give Mikey arts and craft tools."

"Consider the lesson learned." Raph nodded, eyes narrowed.

Leo chuckled, then grew more serious as glanced over. "For real, though, are you okay, Raph? You got a little clingy there. Did you need to talk about something?"

Raph shook his head and stood up, dusting himself off. "Nah, everything's fine." He reached down and offered Leo a hand. "Though, after we're done getting this mess sorted out, I wouldn't mind sparring for a bit. You know, burn off some energy and all that."

Leo gave him a competitive smirk as he took Raph's hand, using it to pull himself up. "Of course! Though I warn you, after this Bedazzler business, I'm not going to go easy on you."

"That's fine with me." Raph grinned back. They started walked back towards the dojo together. "I want to see just how strong my Big Brother truly is."

* * *

**Bonus Content:**

_Exactly Twenty Years Ago:_

Mai sighed as she leaned against the counter. Mrs Wiltson was out on lunch break, and there were no customers in the store right now. Things were so slow!

She took a moment to glance over at the display with the baby turtles in it, and gave a small, crooked smile. All four of them were crawling all around, constantly bumping and scuffling into one another. And her little man was right in there with the strongest of them. One would never guess that he had been so sickly and weak only a few days ago. Now he was currently trying to sun peacefully on a rock, trying to ignore the brother crawling on top of him again.

She blew a bubble, then let the gum snap thoughtfully. It would really be a shame to split up the brothers. She was going to have to try her best to get them all a good home where they could remain together.

The bell over the door rang, and she straightened up, looking towards the customer that had just entered. "Welcome to Wiltson's Pet Emporium!" she greeted cheerfully.

"Ah. Thank you. And good afternoon to you as well, young lady." The very polite, tall, middle aged man spoke in a lilting Japanese accent.

"Is there anything specific that you're look for today?" Mai tilted her head curiously.

The Japanese man looked around almost a little uncertainly. "Actually, I'm not entirely sure. I've just recently arrived here in America, and I've been finding my apartment to be a little... empty. I thought maybe a animal companion might help. I don't have the room to properly care for a dog, and I've never been a cat person. Perhaps a bird, or a pet rat or something? Nothing too noisy or hard to care for, mind you."

Mai studied him for a moment. There was something about him that struck a cord in her. He moved with an easy grace, and his face appeared kind, yet strong. And sad. Very sad. Like he was missing a family.

She thought for a moment, then, trying to appear casual, leaned against the counter. "Have you ever considered pet turtles?"

He looked at her, surprised, but then intrigued by the idea. "Why, no. I haven't. But that's definitely a possibility that could work."

She couldn't stop the grin that crossed her face. "Well, I got four little brothers that just might interest you, Mr..."

"Yoshi. Hamato Yoshi. And I should like to meet them."

* * *

 _ **Author Notes:**_

And thus, the three other brothers were left wondering why Raph suddenly started beating the crap out of anybody who teased Leo about being the shortest turtle after that day.

So, in case anybody isn't aware of this bit of trivia, theoretically, Mikey really is the oldest. He was the first turtle drawn by Eastman and Laird, the creators of the turtles, as a joke.

Also, I've read several stories in the past where adult Leo ended up the shortest. It's a concept I'm on the fence about. It has some appeal to my ninja!Leo fangirl side, I'll admit, but I always envision him as a balanced middle ground among all his brothers' talents, including on size. It worked well for this story, though, so I added that dimension. We'll see if I do so in future stories as well.


End file.
